Effectiveness on Family Cohesion and Happiness of Using Social Media to Enhance Happiness Accounts for Late-Stage Cancer Patients and Their Families

The study period is from September 1, 2024, to December 31, 2025. The subjects are cancer patients from the medical center of this hospital. A block randomization will be used to assign 100 patients to the experimental group and 100 patients to the control group, totaling 200 patients. During the study process, questionnaires and medical records of the subjects will be collected. The experimental group will receive the social media "Happiness Ledger" intervention, while the control group will receive routine treatment. Questionnaires will be collected from both groups before and after the intervention.

Study Overview

• Status: Not yet recruiting
• Conditions: Cancer
• Intervention / Treatment: Other: life review

• Study Type: Interventional
• Enrollment (Estimated): 100
• Phase: Not Applicable

Participation Criteria

Eligibility Criteria

• Ages Eligible for Study: Adult; Older Adult
• Accepts Healthy Volunteers: Yes

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

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Inclusion Criteria for Advanced Cancer Patients:

1. Patients diagnosed with stage III or IV cancer by a specialist physician.
2. Patients who agree to participate in the study after being informed about the research.
3. Patients who are conscious and able to communicate in Mandarin or Taiwanese.
4. Patients aged 20 years or older.
5. Patients with no history of mental illness.

Inclusion Criteria for Family Members:

1. The primary caregiver of a patient diagnosed with stage III or IV cancer by a specialist physician.
2. The primary caregiver who has a blood, marital, or cohabitation relationship with the patient.
3. Family members who agree to participate in the study after being informed about the research.
4. Family members who are conscious and able to communicate in Mandarin or Taiwanese.
5. Family members aged 20 years or older.
6. Family members with no history of mental illness.

Exclusion Criteria:

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Exclusion Criteria for Advanced Cancer Patients:

1. Patients in the experimental group and control group who reside in the same ward.
2. Patients who share a ward with subjects already included in the study.
3. Patients involved in ongoing medical disputes.
4. Patients who cannot understand the study explanation due to language or cognitive impairments.
5. Patients with a life expectancy shorter than the planned study duration.

Exclusion Criteria for Family Members:

1. Family members who do not have direct living or caregiving contact with the patient.
2. Family members who cannot visit the patient regularly or participate in the study.
3. Family members who cannot understand the study explanation due to language or cognitive impairments.
4. Family members with significant visual or hearing impairments who do not use assistive devices and cannot resolve communication issues.
5. Family members who cannot make independent decisions.

Study Plan

How is the study designed?

Design Details

• Primary Purpose: Supportive Care
• Allocation: Randomized
• Interventional Model: Single Group Assignment
• Masking: Single

Number of Arms

2

Arms and Interventions

Participant Group / Arm	Intervention / Treatment
Experimental: Experimental Group; Upon admission to the cancer-related ward, after explaining the purpose and process of the study, patients who agree to participate in the study will complete the first questionnaire before the intervention with the social media "Happiness Ledger". The family members will have one week to organize photos, after which the patients will share the meaning of the photos. The process will be recorded by the researcher and will last approximately 40 to 60 minutes. Afterward, the researcher will create a video of about three minutes using the photos and ask the participating family members to assist in uploading the photos to the family LINE group as feedback to the research subjects. The patients will then complete the second questionnaire.	Other: life review; After consenting, they will complete the first questionnaire before receiving the "Happiness Ledger" intervention via social media. Family members will have one week to organize photos, after which patients will share the meaning of the photos. This process will be recorded by the researcher and will last approximately 40 to 60 minutes. The researcher will then create a three-minute video using the photos, and the participating family members will assist in uploading the photos to the family LINE group as feedback to the subjects. The second questionnaire will then be completed.
No Intervention: Control Group; After explaining the purpose and process of the study to the patients and their family members on the day of admission, and obtaining their consent to participate in the study, they will complete the first questionnaire. One week later, they will complete the second questionnaire. After the entire study is completed, the control group will receive the same social media "Happiness Ledger" intervention as the experimental group. Data collection will be conducted for both groups before and after the intervention.

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure	Measure Description	Time Frame
Family Cohesion	This study uses the Family Adaptability and Cohesion Evaluation Scale (FACES II) developed by Olson et al. (1979), which consists of 30 items to measure the family cohesion of patients and their families .	Baseline (pre-intervention) and 1 week after intervention

Secondary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure	Measure Description	Time Frame
Happiness	This study uses the Subjective Happiness Scale (SHS) created by Lyubomirsky & Lepper (1999), which consists of 4 items to measure the happiness of patients and their families."	Baseline and 1 week

Collaborators and Investigators

• Sponsor: YANG WEN-CHI

Study record dates

Study Major Dates

• Study Start (Estimated): September 1, 2024
• Primary Completion (Estimated): December 31, 2024
• Study Completion (Estimated): December 31, 2025

Study Registration Dates

• First Submitted: August 6, 2024
• First Submitted That Met QC Criteria: August 14, 2024
• First Posted (Actual): August 19, 2024

Study Record Updates

• Last Update Posted (Actual): August 19, 2024
• Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria: August 14, 2024
• Last Verified: August 1, 2024

More Information

Terms related to this study

• Other Study ID Numbers: A202405117

Plan for Individual participant data (IPD)

• Plan to Share Individual Participant Data (IPD)?: NO

Drug and device information, study documents

• Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated drug product: No
• Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated device product: No